This book is a real gem, both for a twist on the usual Christmas story (the paw prints of 8 tiny gators) as well as the regional aspect. It is a hoot to read out loud, to yourself and others!

I have had this book for almost twenty years, and every Christmas my friends beg me to read it to them with my Cajun accent. This is such a FUN book for children and adults, and it is written in the Cajun dialect so that it is easy to have a Cajun accent. I have never met anyone who didn't fall in love with this book! Buy it! You won't be sorry, and it will become a family heirloom for many generations to come.

This book will be a great gift for any transplanted Cajun. I recieved this as a gift many Christmas"s ago. It has a special place on my bookcase, and is shown to all my guests. I brought it to work, read it in its true nature to my co workers and they all wanted a copy of it. This book is a must for all households, large and small. It is heart warming, and comical. Sometimes I take it out of my bookcase and hug it, that is how special it is to me. No home should be without it.

To my knowledge there are no text treating this subject from a project management/systems engineering perspective. Considering the importance of the topic the book is sorely needed.

The book presents an excellent coverage of the overall communication process and couples it with standard definitions of system management terminology. System management being a combination of project management, system engineering, and process management. That close relationship is often not recognized by practitioners in these fields.

I would encourage every project manager, systems engineer, and software engineer to have a personal copy of this text. It's an essential reference. Every project should have an agreed upon glossary of terms and acronym list. This text would make an excellent starting point. Project particular terms and acronyms would necessarily need to be added for each project. In addition to making an essential tool in project work, it provides an excellent reference source when you are confused or unaware of a term you encounter in literature. Hopefully, this book will aid us in improving our communications industry wide.

I have a well-worn copy of the author's Visualizing Project Management that has helped me understand and then communicate to others the intertwined processes of Project Management and Systems Engineering. I have found no other book that does this as well. Now I have acquired Communicating Project Management that along with providing valuable insights into verbal and non-verbal communication provides a very complete integrated lexicon of Project Management, Systems Engineering, SEI CMM/CMMI, and other relevant terms in a single location. Best of all when definitions can be enhanced with illustrations and examples they are. I have actually found myself reading these definitions for enjoyment after having entered the book to resolve an issue. This book is a must have reference for every leader and practitioner in the PM and SE profession and is essential to establishing a common vocabulary across organizations.

For anyone who has communication problems on their projects, here is an answer.

Hal Mooz, Kevin Forsberg and Howard Cotterman have written a dictionary. Comprehensive in its scope, the authors have integrated definitions of project management, systems engineering and software engineering. In short, they have added to the legacy created by comprehensive book: Visualizing Project Management

Like it, the nearly 2.000 definitions in the new volume are supported by practical illustrations. The explanations employed span the chasms that often separate the diverse disciplines that rely on the art of project management.

I would be remiss if I left readers with the impression this is a mere dictionary. It is not. It is a unique reference. It bridges the unique vocabularies of the many disciplines that contribute to an organization. It includes special sections that speak to the problems and techniques of communicating in the project environment.

If accepted and adopted by the diverse project management community, this book has the potential to establish a consistent platform. Team members would free their creative talents. No more time wasted time attempting to communicate.

Once, I believed all project management practitioners should own three books: Visualizing Project Management, Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling and The Fast Forward in Project Management.

It is time to clear some space on your Project Management bookshelf. Communicating Project Management has earned a spot there - and it promises not to collect dust.

The End Is Near brings together interesting essays and most unsual artists. The quality of the images and paintings displayed in this book make it a MUST for any art collector and connoisseur of fine books. Essayists in this book bring new meaning to the art depicted. Visionary art and Outsider Art come together in this book beautifully. WELL DONE...a "must have".

This book is an excellent introduction to outsider art, and to the artists themselves, whose stories are as interesting as the tales their paintings weave. The book itself is also beautifully constructed, and is something I treasure.

By showing the amazing collection of the American Museum of Visionary Art, this book provokes the reader to re-think the distinctions our society draws between genius and madness. I've actually been to the Museum in Baltimore and am thrilled that this artwork is now available on a large scale. This book may not be for everyone, but those willing to expose themselves to its often disturbing imagery will be rewarded.

If you've ever had an excuse for not getting into the Word, this book is for you. Howard Hendricks who chairs the Center for Christian Leadership (affectionately know as "Prof." to his students at Dallas Theological Seminary) with the aid of his son Bill, has written this phenomenal book on the "why" and "how" of Bible study.

In the first few chapters, Hendricks challenges all the excuses we have for not studying our Bibles and posits clearly superior reasons in favor of doing so. He then uses Scripture itself to show us what we will gain from regular study of God's Word. In typical Hendricks fashion he begins by humoring "I wish we had a better term than 'Bible study,' because for most of us, 'study' is a bad news item. It has all the appeal of flossing our teeth" (13). He tells the story of a man he met at a Bible conference who drove twelve hundred miles to "get under the Word" and Hendricks muses "was he just as willing to walk across his living room floor, pick up a Bible, and get into it for himself?" (9).

There are three steps, which will transform that sometimes-dry text into the spiritual growth that we desire in our lives. They are Observation, Interpretation and Application. These three steps are the heart of the book.

The ability of Howard Hendricks to communicate clearly and effectively is unmatched in this introductory work on Bible study. The pages of this book come alive as he swiftly and painlessly removes the obstacles to personal study while at the same time equipping the reader with the proper tools to understand God's Word. Virtually every chapter contains exercises for the student of Scripture to get hands-on experience instead of just theoretical book knowledge. Much of this book is essentially the application of Mortimer Adler's book, How to Read a Book, (which Hendricks highly acclaims) to the Bible. The anecdotes, illustrations and "quotables" are alone worth the price of the book, not to mention the enlightening elaboration of the three-step approach to Bible study. This book should be the absolute first book a new Christian reads apart from the Bible itself.

Dr. Hendricks gives us a wonderful overview and guide on studying the Bible. His humor and plain language make the reading enjoyable while at the same time you are learning an in-depth method of getting into God's Word. As a pastor, I have recommended this book for years to my congregation. I have used it as a teaching outline for new believers as well as those who just want to get deeper into the Word. A GREAT book.

"Living By The Book" is the best introduction to the Bible that I have yet to read. Whether you are brand new to Bible study, or a seasoned lover of the Word of God- there are many helpful tools in this book. There is a wealth of knowledge to be discovered in the Bible, and this book shows you how to be a "spiritual" detective. Fun and rewarding reading! Thank you God, Howard, and William!

Barthes dissects Love,analyzing it whit the painstaking precision of a skilled forensic.Here you see what one feels when Love,the very hope of it,is like a fallen leaf in a cold winter morning.This is a very sad book,but illuminating,even amusing,in some parts;but alas,fragments are all that remains,when one loves too long in vain.

Very, very difficult to read. Not because it is hyper-intellectual and most everyone will need a dictionary on each page. This book is so difficult because it taps into the heart of the crazy abyss of love. It seemed at times as if the book could only be understood by someone in the madness of love as s/he reads it. Having loved before is not enough: the details and precision applied to this insanity are too exact, too punishing, too passionate for me to believe that this book can make the same sense for those in love as for those out of it. By the same token, to read this while in love can be a demolishing experience. To know that this passion has been felt and analyzed so well by someone of towering intellect is little solace to the solitude one feels reading these words. A brilliant and disturbing book.

All academic works should be modeled after this one. To make literature speak: to make the text yearn, cry, fear, love, and affirm. The pleasure of the text?

Is this a book about human love? Or is it also a book about loving the word? Does the lover love a beloved? Or is the beloved really the word?

This book is for those of us who cannot participate in reality as it is, but who are always filtering the lived moment through the books that we have read. This book which seeks to affirm at a time of discontent and irony, affirms us in the end.

This book was REALLY good! I'm only 14 and I got this for Christmas, 2000. It had great information on Lucy and wonderful pictures that I haven't seen. I've seen a LOT of Lucy pictures but obviosly not those. If you love lucy, you should go out and get this book. It's really good.

I loved this book. It is chocked full of some famous pictures of the American icon, Lucielle Ball, as well as other not as well known shots. Its filled with well known episodes like the chocolate factory and the grape smashing. I really recommend it.

WOW! This book is filled with information, pictures, and interesting facts that the world never knew about Lucy. This gives you a look behind the clown and into Lucille Ball, the woman. Here is a side of Lucy few people know or see. It has great pictures of Lucy's life, both private and public, and it covers her life up until the day she was born on August 6th, 1911, till the day she died on April 26th, 1989. This pictorial biography takes you on an entertaining and informative tour through the life of a legend, a must-have for ANY Lucy fan!

Don't Retire, Rewire! is a solid read for anyone concerned with their future. Sedlar & Miners helps identify the motivators we each have that propel us in our lives and careers. That's good information for anyone concerned with moving ahead successfully and being happy with our choices.
Even though I'm many years away from retirement, Don't Retire, Rewire! helped me take a closer look at my career today, identify the "drivers" that motivate me, and better prepared me for the transition to retirement down the road.
A book worth reading more than once- a good checklist of questions to ask ourselves throughout our careers.

I'm 48 and a former CEO of a large real estate information company based in New Jersey. Last year I voluntarily gave up my CEO title -- and all of its day-to-day responsibilities -- and assumed the role of Chairman. I did NOT realize what a huge role difference this would be and the impact it would have on me. Stripped of a large part of my "power base" I felt cut adrift, unfocused, at times even desperate.

Don't Retire, REWIRE has been a beacon of light for me, providing a clear framework for mapping out the second half of my life. This is material that I've been searching a long time for, a book that helped shift my thinking from income statements and balance sheets to life's core benchmarks -- those soulful areas such as following my passions, developing my skills, and pursuing my dreams.

The most valuable part of the book for me lay in the case studies of how real people faced the challenge of life's transitions. It sparked dozens of ideas which I narrowed down to one very fulfilling direction that I'm exploring now.

Read REWIRE -- but then USE it and FOLLOW it. It could be life-changing for you, too.

"Don't Retire Rewire" is a positive approach to changing stream mid career. Sedlar and Miners are well qualified to write this book after working with literally 100's of men and women who have found themselves in a new situation, either an early unplanned retirement or job transision.

Their positive approach is a breath of fresh air....sure to give the reader lots of advice you can put right to work.

A friend tipped me off to Clark's radio show which I listen to over the net since I live in a small town in California. I was a bit skeptical, but once I began listening I couldn't stop. The best thing about Clark Howard is his realistic view on money and purchasing. He understands "deals", but more importantly he understands "value". We all know those people who will do anything to find deals regardless of value. I'm buying two copies of this book, one for myself and one for the friend who told me about Clark Howard. I recommend you buy it, you'll feel better about every dollar you spend, and even better about every dollar you save.

... I could have saved myself a lot of money in the past 10 years. I highly recommend this book as a gift to those young men and women in your life who are just starting out, newlyweds, new parents--anyone who could use a quick course in savvy consumer education. I enjoy Clark's radio show, and his easy, friendly style translates very well into print. Clark, this was worth every penny!

Get Clark Smart is a great consumer reference book that will pay for itself in a short time by helping you make wise purchase decisions. Before signing any contracts or buying any major items you should check with Clark Howard, and his book makes that easy to do. This book would also make a great gift for newlyweds, children, or practically anyone.

Adrian was more than just a fashion designer, he was a rare artistic and creative genius. In only thirteen years at MGM, he designed the costumes for nearly 200 films...many of them classics today! He also had a hand in cultivating images for many of the movie stars of that era, such as Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. His ultimate genius pictures are "The Women" where the costumes are just as big of stars as the actresses in the film and "Marie Antoinette", the elegance and grandeur of which have rarely been repeated! This book is filled with beautiful photographs of Adrians sketches and gowns. There are some beautiful color photographs of some of the opulent gowns from "Marie Antoinette" that are just gorgeous. Excellent purchase for any film or fashion fan!!!

Let me state unequivocally that I know next to nothing about fashion, whether it be for the street or the stage. So when I was given "Gowns By Adrian" as a gift, I thought I'd flip through it casually and never look at it again. On the contrary, this is a book to treasure not just for its abundance of photographs (both black & white and color) but, more importantly, for its generously detailed description of MGM, the Hollywood studio system, itself, and how a man of genius, taste, dedication, discipline and talent fit into that system.

Howard Gutner's research must have taken him years and years, never mind the compiling and editing of that research. And it is all worth it. "Gowns By Adrian" takes us from Gilbert Adrian's first days at MGM, in 1928, when he replaced no less an artist that Erte, to 1941 when Adrian left MGM to open his own shop.

During those years, the designer created clothes for some of the most famous movies ever released and most of the famous movie stars who appeared in them: Norma Shearer as 'Marie Antoinette' and 'Juliet,' Joan Crawford as 'Flaemmchen' in "Grand Hotel," Jean Harlow as 'Kitty' in "Dinner At Eight," Katherine Hepburn as 'Tracy Lord' in "The Philadelphia Story" and Greta Garbo in everything she did for MGM from 1929 until she left in 1941 from "Anna Christie" to "Ninotchka" to "Two Faced Woman" and "Anna Karenina." Adrian's legacy to fashion for the average woman? A dress he designed for Joan Crawford in "Letty Lynton" was "knocked off" and sold 500,000 copies nation-wide. What makes this statement even more unusual is the fact that not that many people actually saw the film: "Letty Lynton" was pulled from theatres only a few months after its release because its writers were accused of plagerism.

The photographs included in this magnificently produced book are not limited to production stills. There are sketches, casual snapshops and the inevitable publicity pictures. My personal favorite is one of Adrian, himself, visiting the set of "Camille" in order to give Garbo a birthday gift. The designer stands with his back to the camera with his hands behind his back like a shy schoolboy while the great star in one of her beautiful costumes opens a jewelry box with obvious delight.

Gutner makes it very clear from his first example to his last that Adrian was not just a terrific dress designer. Here was a man who understood what the character as written on paper needed to be translated into visual terms for the screen. Take a look at "The Women" and you'll see everyone of those 135 characters defined, not only by the director and the actresses, but by Adrian's clothes.

One of the last paragraphs in the book tells the whole story: "My mother always told me," Robin Adrian says, "that when my father left Metro, the studio had to hire five different designers to replace him." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

On the surface tackling a subject like fashion designer Adrian might seem like an easy project. However, it becomes very apparent that this could not be further from the truth. The Adrian touch was imprinted on virtually all costumes designed for MGM films during his lengthy tenure at the studio.
Aside from the obvious consideration that the clothes he designed had to showcase MGM's roster of stars, this book accentuates the subtleties that cinema fashions require to place special emphasis not only on the actor/actress, but the parts they are playing.
Howard Gutner manages to cover a lot of ground by providing detailed descriptions of costumes designed for specific actors and the challenges which Adrian encountered. I found myself falling in love with the exquisite details of specific gowns such as those designed for the production of Marie Antoinette. I was also amazed by the sheer volume of costumes the studio (under Adrian's guidance) produced. Gutner's review of Adrian's work and his careful and caring research made this book a delightful read as well as a delight for the eyes. By the end of the book, I came to appreciate and understand the field of costume design and see it as an integral part of movie production. It certainly validated the awarding of Oscars for this category.
Adrian's artistic gifts and his sensitivity toward his subjects gave me an appreciation for his work.

Whether you are a lost Jew, the spouse of a Jew, or just someone who is interested in Jewish observances and traditions, this is a worthwhile book to own. The authors emphasize Judaism as a series of choices that you can make or not make. They discuss, in admitted brevity, the various facets of Jewish life and Jewish customs as they have evolved since the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. Each chapter concludes with a list of books for further reading. You will be tempted!

this book is wonderfully inspiring. it presents jewish values and traditions in a non-intimidating fashion. it's not written like a text. the language is engaging, interesting, and informative. not only is this book a reference on different jewish customs, but it includes reasoning behind each and every one; reasoning that can fit into your lifestyle regardless of faith. it provides numerous ideas for implementing different aspects of judaism into your home. it does this so well that i found myself want to jump into everything all at once. it presents judaism in a new and refreshing light, something that is joyous and most likely you haven't heard before. it also includes wonderful ways to pass on these traditions to kids.

This book is perfect for the young Jewish family, or for an individual to use after converting. I found it very informative and helpful. It is easy to follow and understand, a great follow-up for those who read Anita Diamont's book, "Choosing a Jewish Life."